All Sides of One Soul
by ParadiseAvenger
Summary: After a dangerous brush with Inuyasha's demon side, Kagome is forced to think about how safe she is with him. Inuyasha also realizes the danger he poses to his friends and flees. Can Kagome stop him from doing something he'll regret? (5 Chapters.) KagXInu.
1. The Half Demon: Pt I

Please, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! The Breaking of Poisonwood by **Paradise Avenger**. (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected _this_. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The _Poisonwood_—)

I don't know about the rest of you, but when Kagura and Kanna died in the Final Act, I cried. I really liked them! And they died so epically and depressingly! (I cried when I thought Kohaku died too, though. And when Kikyo died _all eighteen times_. Maybe I'm just a big fat softy…)

X X X

Naraku had finally realized.

Though Kagura and Kanna were his strongest shades and the best to send into battle against Inuyasha and his gang because those softhearted fools were loathe to hurt the pair, he had to stop sending them out into battle. He was able to control Kagura with his hands on her heart and by dangling her freedom in front of her. Oh, he knew she hated him and would sacrifice anything to be rid of him, but she was too useful to destroy just yet. Kanna was nothingness so she would never outright disobey him though somewhere deep inside, he knew she was doing it in some subtle way.

So, armed with this new revelation, he created a new shade from his body and set the beast out on the country with only one simple order—destroy Inuyasha and his friends and retrieve the shards of the jewel that Kagome carried. He knew that this shade would either succeed and do as he asked or Inuyasha's group would destroy it. If that happened, he still had Kagura and Kanna to set on the fools. If the new beast succeeded, he could destroy both Kagura and Kanna.

Either way, it was a win-win situation.

…

The half-demon Inuyasha's strides were smooth and even, practiced, his hands supporting the weight of the human he carried easily as he ran. Kagome Higurashi had almost fallen asleep on his back, the heat of his body and the baking sun lulling her into a content doze. Comfortable, Inuyasha adjusted her weight so that her head could rest on his shoulder and she could sleep soundly. Nothing was going on anyway and she had been up most of the night searching for jewel shards with him.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara had elected to stay behind while Kagome and Inuyasha had another go at finding some jewel shards. There hadn't been any activity in over a month. Even Naraku was quiet so there wasn't much point in everyone tagging along. The expedition was doomed to be fruitless, as Shippo had put it before Inuyasha whacked him. So the others had gone home to the Village of the Demon Slayers, Sango's home, to rest and recuperate. (Well, for about two hours before Sango set everyone to work trying to fix up the ruined village.) When Kagome returned to her era, they either stayed in Kaede's village or returned to Sango's. It was kind of a second home to the group, a home away from home so to speak. Pretty soon, the village would be fixed up again.

Suddenly, Kagome's body tensed in his arms and her head shot up, dark hair flying.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked her.

"I sense a Shikon shard! It's approaching fast, from the east!"

"Fast? Is it Kouga?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's just a single shard and it feels tainted, like Naraku."

"Is it…?" He wasn't sure he wanted to ask. Without Sango, how could they ever hope to bring the kid back alive? "Is it Kohaku?"

Kagome shook her head again. "I don't think so."

"Then what is it?" Inuyasha demanded.

"I… I don't know. I can't tell," Kagome confessed.

"Keh. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

She nodded and bit her lower lip. Her skin was crawling. Something very bad and very dangerous was coming their way.

A few tense minutes passed without a sign of attack but Kagome could feel the jewel shard growing closer and closer, darker and darker. Inuyasha felt her tense, her knees tightening around his hips and her fingers digging into his shoulders. His demon blood hummed. She was afraid—truly afraid—and the demon inside him was rising to the surface. He would protect Kagome where he had always failed Kikyo, where he had failed his mother, where he had failed himself. He glanced over his shoulder at her, taking in her white-pale face and worried eyes. What did she sense?

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath and Inuyasha turned his golden eyes back to the countryside before them.

It didn't matter why she was suddenly so afraid, he decided as he ran. Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Shippo, and Kagome where the only people important in his life anymore. They were all the family he had and would ever have. They protected him on the night of the new moon and he would protect them to the end of time or until his body was torn to shreds. Naraku wouldn't hurt the people he cared about any longer, not even Kikyo who had died once already. He was done letting that filthy monster hurt them! If he and his Tetsusaiga had anything to say about it, this would be Naraku's last shot at killing them. Instead, Naraku would die.

Suddenly, Kagome shouted a warning and the hillside exploded in a shower of dust and rubble.

Inuyasha only just managed to avoid the attacking demon because of Kagome's warning. He released her legs, shouting for her to hold on tight, and drew his sword. Instantly, the demonic fangs of his father and himself transformed into the weapon to protect humans. He brandished it, Kagome clinging to him.

"Where's the shard?"

She let out a strangled cry as the dust cleared.

Inuyasha whirled back to face the demon and the sword almost clattered from his hand. Before them, approaching with slow deliberation and a hideous grin, were Miroku and Sango except their bodies were melded together in the center by Kirara, her face twisted in a snarl, fire coming from her mouth. Sango lifted her heavy Hiraikotsu, let out an ugly laugh, and hurled it. The weapon slammed into Inuyasha full on because he wasn't prepared.

Kagome was thrown away from him, her body smashing into the rock and dropping painfully. She lay, choking and wheezing, for a moment before struggling onto her knees and notching an arrow in her bow. She hadn't seen where Inuyasha had been launched so for now, she was alone, but she knew he would come back to help her.

The conjoined bodies of Miroku, Sango, and Kirara weren't getting along so well. Sango was pushing Miroku, strange sounds coming out of her mouth, as she tried to get over to where Kagome had fallen, but Miroku was trying to go in the opposite direction, presumably after Inuyasha. Kirara was snarling at them both, not appreciating her body being pulled this way and that.

"Stop!" Kagome shouted at them.

They all turned to face her and she choked. These were her friends! How could she ever fight and hurt them? It was clear something terrible had happened to land them in this state, but what? Was Naraku behind it all?

Sango lifted her Hiraikotsu, preparing to throw.

Kagome knew that if that weapon hit her, her body would shatter into a million pieces, but she couldn't shoot Sango. What could she do? A sob escaped her and she began to lower her bow. She could only pray that Sango would suddenly come to her senses and stop this madness.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's shout rang through the air. "Shoot her!"

Out of habit, Kagome tightened her grip on the bow. "But… it's Sango!"

"It's not! It's one of Naraku's shades!"

Kagome clenched her jaw, seeing Inuyasha appear like a red beacon on the edge of the cliff above her. How dare Naraku do this to them! Use and image of their friends! With a shout of rage, she let her arrow fly. The bright purifying light engulfed the demon and it blew apart, splattering blood and guts everywhere. For a moment, Kagome feared that Inuyasha had been wrong. What if that had been Sango, Miroku, and Kirara?

"Inuyasha," she sobbed.

He slid down the cliff to her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "But…"

He sensed her worry. "It wasn't them. They were reeking of Naraku's body."

She sniffled, wiped her eyes, and stood up. Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her. She was bleeding all over from when the explosion had thrown her into the cliff. Humans were so fragile, so frail, so precious. Her life could be over in an instant and he might not be able to save her.

"Kagome," he said softly.

Then, suddenly, all the demolished flesh that had been Naraku's latest trick shot back into a hideous bloody mess and began to take shape again. Inuyasha stepped in front of Kagome and brandished his Testusaiga. This thing—this shade of Naraku—would not hurt her! But the flesh morphed first into Kikyo, his chest split open by Naraku's miasma, reaching out and pleading for him. When he lifted his weapon anyway, it quickly took on a new shape.

Kagome!

"Inuyasha, please… please, don't hurt me. You promised to protect me… always…" Kagome pleaded and reached out to him imploringly.

"Kagome," he whispered.

The real Kagome grabbed the back of his kimono and yanked. "Inuyasha," she said firmly. "Don't be stupid."

He narrowed his eyes at Naraku's shade.

God, she looked so real and even acted like Kagome would. She was even backing away from him with her palms raised, as she had once before from him. A single tear ran down her pale cheek. "Please, Inuyasha, you don't want to hurt me," she begged him.

The sword drooped in his hands.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome kicked him. "She's not real!"

This time, before he could be swayed again, he swung the Tetsusaiga. The fanning claws of wind and power destroyed the ground and raced towards the fake Kagome. For a moment, she just stood there, crying, but when the attack didn't stop, the shade did something strange. She leaped towards them, her face splitting opening in a hideous maw of teeth that looked sickeningly familiar. Was that Goshinki's mouth? Inuyasha yanked the sword back, but it was too late. That mouth grabbed Testusaiga and pulled it from his hands. With a single toss of the head, the rusty sword was thrown up over the ridge.

A yelp escaped him, his eyes desperately following the sword.

Then, the shade was upon them. Claws dug into Inuyasha's abdomen, clenched into his bones so that Kagome heard them breaking, and hurled him into the cliff behind. She heard his body break again, his blood splattering on the rock, and then he fell like a stone to the ground and didn't move again.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed.

Kagome had notched an arrow and let it fly immediately, but the shade allowed part of its body to be eaten and destroyed by the arrow, flopping uselessly on the ground before rejoining the central mass. Then, it changed its shape once again. This time, Inuyasha towered over her, grinning cruelly.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat.

This was what Naraku had done to Kikyo and Inuyasha fifty years ago, tricking and toying with them borrowing the forms of the other.

It was no wonder he was using it once again because the human heart was so soft. Kagome could bring herself to shoot her own shape and that of her friends under Inuyasha's direction and assurance, but she would never be able to shoot Inuyasha. Her bow began to lower almost of its own accord, the arrow clattering to the ground. His name escaped her mouth and the shade grinned meanly at her, mouth cracking open into a maw of demonic teeth.

This wasn't Inuyasha!

This was a shade of Naraku!

She lifted her bow, pulling back on the string and grabbing for the fallen arrow, but it was already too late. Claws raked into her shoulder, stabbing through and rending her muscles apart. A scream of anguish escaped her as the shade of Inuyasha tore her apart. Then, her body was thrown. She landed on Inuyasha's body and her blood splattered on him as the force sent her tumbling a few more feet. She slammed to a stop against the cliff's stone wall and clutched her wound, gasping in agony.

The shade licked its claws of her blood and smiled. "Tasty," he snarled.

Kagome couldn't even notch and arrow. Her shoulder was too badly damaged and Inuyasha showed no signs of getting up to save her. The blood around his body was expanding and the Tetsusaiga was nowhere to be seen. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara were far away in the Village of the Demon Slayers. No one would be coming to save them. Trembling, she waited for death.

X X X

There's a million and one ways to spell everything in Inuyasha so I don't want to hear about anything being misspelled or not spelled the way you like it or not spelled the way you're used to seeing it. Just get over it. Go complain to Rumiko Takahashi and the translators that give out nine million spellings for everything.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	2. The Demon Blood!

And all the people asking me "Is there going to be another chapter?" and "Is this over?" are really aggravating! There's a fascinating thing here on Fanfiction called "Status" which could be "Complete" or "In Progress." This story would be "In Progress." What does that mean, class?

X X X

The shade of Inuyasha was approaching swiftly and there was only a few feet between them before he reached the place where Inuyasha and Kagome had fallen. Kagome didn't want to see either Inuyasha's death or her own, so she closed her eyes tightly and waited in darkness. As a result, she didn't see Inuyasha's sudden transformation. She only heard the fierce and terrible snarl. Quickly she opened her eyes, her heart in her throat.

Inuyasha was on his feet, blood pouring from his body, but he didn't seem to feel any pain at all. She could only see him from the back, but she knew what had happened.

_His demon blood…_

It had taken over his body in an attempt to save his life.

Totosai, the insane sword smith who had forged Tetsusaiga first with Inutaisho's fang and later with Inuyasha's as a bridge when it was broken, had explained that Inuyasha's demon blood awoke when his life was threatened and the only way to stop it was by giving him the Tetsusaiga, but the sword was far out of reach and Kagome had no way of retrieving it. Without the Tetsusaiga to hold back his demon blood, Inuyasha would lose his mind and go on a killing rampage until he was killed as well.

How could she stop his transformation?

Inuyasha, a feral roar clawing from his mouth, leaped at the shade. The morphing body was slashed to ribbons in an instant, but quickly reformed into Kagome's shape. Dear god, what if he didn't attack the shade because it looked like her? Kagome had often stopped Inuyasha's rampages before with her voice and a well-placed _"SIT"_ alone.

What if he didn't attack the illusion of her?

Her heart skipped a beat, shuddered, and then began to race.

Or worse, what if he did?

Inuyasha hesitated a moment, his blood-red eyes wary, but then his hesitation was over. He leaped onto the shade of Kagome and tore her apart. For a moment, he stood in a ruin, licking his bloodied claws, but then the ruined body began to piece itself together again. He stared at it, as if unable to comprehend this new foe.

Then, at the same time Kagome saw it, he saw it too. A single piece of the shade was unmoving and all the ruined flesh was being drawn to that single piece. Grinning maliciously, he leaped on it and tore into the flesh with his claws. All the ruined flesh transformed into mouths and screamed, screamed, screamed, but Inuyasha didn't seem to hear.

His claws ripped apart the piece of flesh that acted as the shape-shifter's brain, relishing the black blood and screams that poured out. When he destroyed it completely, the flesh dissolved into nothing but stinking black sludge around his feet. When it touched Kagome, her purification spread through it and the sludge turned into nothing more than crystal-clear water.

Inuyasha stood in the center of this puddle, licking his claws of Naraku's black blood.

His demon face, his eyes the color of blood rather than honey with hideous ice-blue pupils and the dark purple streaks on his face that looked almost like old wounds, was alight with joy. He had been happy to destroy Naraku's shade and it was the wrong kind of happiness. He wasn't reveling in the defeat of Naraku's monster and the rescue of their lives—he was only happy to be dismembering this shade, to be killing again. The demon in him reveled in the killing, in the blood and suffering.

Growling deep in his chest, he turned slowly in search of more enemies to slaughter and his eyes found her. He grinned, his mouth cracking open.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "It's Kagome."

He began to approach her, his bare feet splashing in the pool of clear water. She staggered to her feet and plastered her back against the cliff, whimpering in pain. Inuyasha was close enough to touch now, the heat of his body sinking into her chilled flesh. He growled, lips pulling back from his teeth.

"Inuyasha, please," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

He grabbed her arm, his claws digging into her painfully, and then he yanked her forward by her ruined shoulder. A scream escaped her mouth, but it was like he didn't even hear her. He sniffed the wound and then licked it, probing deep into her bloodied flesh. Then, he pulled back and sniffed the side of her throat, inhaling deeply. The demon took a step backwards and looked into her face with those blood-colored eyes, scrutinizing.

"Inuyasha," she whispered. "You don't want to hurt me."

"Why not?" he asked her. His voice sounded terrible, all snarls and growls as if his throat was rejecting the sounds.

She placed her hand over his on her damaged shoulder. "We're friends."

"I'm only a half-demon. I have no friends." He dug his fingers into her wound

She gasped out in pain. "Y-you do. You have me… and Sango and Miroku and Shippo and Kirara—ah!"

He gouged his claws into her. "You're a liar. What do you want from me?"

"W-what?" she sobbed.

"That's the only reason a human would pretend to be friends with a half-demon. If they wanted something… So, what do you want from me?"

Kagome choked on her pain. God, her blood smelled so thick and metallic. "Inuyasha," she sobbed. "Please, let me go."

He didn't. "Tell me what you want out of me."

"We're friends," she sobbed.

"I have no friends." He dug into her shoulder with his claws.

"We're family!" Desperation choked her.

"I have no family!" Deeper and deeper, his claws went into her wound until she thought she could feel his talons breaking into the marrow of her bones.

Tears rushed down her face and she sobbed desperately, trying to pull away from him. "Inuyasha, please, stop this," she begged. "Let me go… I'll get Tetsusaiga for you, please…"

"Tetsusaiga?" he whispered and his hand wandered to his waist as if in search of it. Would he come back to her? But suddenly, he snapped his hand away from the empty sheath as if burned. "I have no need for that worthless sword. It protects humans and I have no love for those pathetic creatures."

"You sound like—ah—" his claws dug in deeper in warning coupled with a low growl "—like Sesshomaru."

His eyes blazed the color of blood, flickered to warm familiar honey, and then his claws tore into the joint of her shoulder. "I'll kill you," he snarled, fangs snapping at her throat.

This was it!

This was the end of her life, not at Naraku's hands or even at Kikyo's but at Inuyasha's—at her love's hands. Maybe she really was the reincarnation of Kikyo, as hapless and tormented as the priestess before her. Inuyasha would tear her throat open and drink her blood like the monsters they struggled so hard to fight. And then, he would realize what he had done and he would break apart, just like with Kikyo. Kagome's eyes snapped open. She wouldn't let that happen to Inuyasha again!

"Inuyasha," she screamed. "SIT!" (1)

The Necklace of Subjugation that Kaede had put on him blazed bright white with its power, but Inuyasha wasn't immediately slammed to the ground. Instead, the demon in him fought back wildly for a moment, but the beads were more powerful. He was slammed first to his knees from the pressure of the beads pulling him down and those deadly claws raked a path from Kagome's shoulder to her waist. Then, the glowing beads succeeded. Inuyasha's face smashed down into the puddle of water and bubbles surrounded his face.

Kagome slid to her knees, clutching her shoulder and raked torso. God, it hurt so badly. It was no wonder Kikyo had died from wounds like this. A sob escaped her, her tears dripping into the added puddle as her blood spread fingers of red through the purified water.

"What the hell, Kagome?" Inuyasha shouted, but his voice faded off when he took in the sight of her body and his own red talons. "Kagome?" he whispered.

She smiled through her tears. "Inuyasha… thank god…"

Then, she fainted.

Inuyasha caught her in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest and swearing to himself. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was… his life being in danger. Had his demon blood taken over him? Had he both saved and hurt Kagome? Where was his Tetsusaiga?

"Damn it!" he swore. "Kagome!"

…

Kagome woke up on the floor of a cave, a fire crackling warm beside her, snuggled deeply in her sleeping bag. Her chest was tight and itchy, telling her that Inuyasha had wrapped it, but her shoulder still throbbed in agony. Then, she became aware of one other thing. Something warm and wet and unbelievably gentle was probing about in the hideous wound in her shoulder.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered.

He sat up beside her, his mouth decorated red with blood though he quickly wiped it on the back of his hand. In the dim firelight, his honey-colored eyes looked haunted and ashamed, his hair silvery-white in the darkness so that his skin appeared a little paler. He looked sick with guilt.

"What are you doing?" she murmured.

"I'm cleaning up your wound," he told her lightly.

"With what?"

"My saliva. I am part dog-demon. My saliva will help you heal faster and it'll stop the bleeding now."

"Ah," she whispered. Everything hurt—her body, her wounds, her head, her heart, and the part of her soul that was still Kikyo. Was Inuyasha doomed to forever destroy the person he loved with his claws at Naraku's hands? "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Kagome, will you… tell me what happened?"

She closed her eyes. "You transformed."

"I know," he breathed.

"You killed the shade of Naraku," she hesitated. She wanted so badly to lie to him, to tell him that he had never hurt her and never would, but he must have sensed that weakness in her heart because he spoke softly against the shell of her ear.

"Kagome, I smell it on my claws… your blood is steeped in…"

A single tear leaked from her eye. "Yeah," she whispered. "You did."

Inuyasha sucked in a breath and scooted backwards from her.

"But you didn't mean to," she whispered.

Inuyasha shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. No, he had meant to. He had meant to do everything. His demon side had been lashing out, speaking out loud the doubt that still clawed at his guts sometimes. Why was Kagome with him? Why was she always here? No one had ever cared for him except his mother so why did she? He was only a worthless half-demon who fit in nowhere. Only people who wanted something from him stayed near him. But Kagome… she was always there.

X X X

(1) The whole time I was watching the Final Act and full-demon Inuyasha was going after Kagome, I was thinking, "Tell him to SIT Kagome! Are you that stupid?" And she was because she never did. That's a great way to stop him from doing bad things.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	3. The Half Demon: Pt II

Hmm, I don't know.

X X X

A few weeks had passed since the episode with Naraku's new shade and Inuyasha's demon side. That time had been hard for Inuyasha. Though no one blamed him for what happened to Kagome—and the wound in her shoulder had been so bad that she had to go home to her time and go to the hospital—the others watched him lightly from the corner of their eyes. It was unspoken, but they were afraid. They were afraid of the demon in him and they had every right to be afraid.

The only one who didn't fear him now was Kagome and she should have been the one who was most afraid.

He had hurt her so badly after all, wrenching his claws into her already grievous injury and resisting the beads, but she never said anything and never shied away from him. She even put her back to him, trusting him completely still. Though she never told him, he felt that he had threatened her very life while he was in his demon form. Something inside him had wanted to kill her, to destroy her for the trickery she released on him, this _pretending_ to be his friend. But he knew Kagome better than that. She wasn't pretending anything. Then why did he feel this way? Why did he feel so betrayed?

His own voice, back when he was a child trying desperately to raise and protect himself, echoed in his mind constantly. _"Not really a demon, but not really human. I'm not either. That's all… There was no place for me, so I had find one myself. And then I realized I had a place, but I was the only one in it. It was the only way I knew how to live."_

Kagome was the only one who ever seemed to completely accept him as he was, save his mother and she had been dead for most of his life.

Even Kikyo, as much as she loved him and he loved her, only loved him for the human half of him. If he would use the jewel to become human and it would vanish from the world so she could be human, too, then they could be humans together. He didn't like being a human on the night of the new moon. He always felt so weak and vulnerable, he could feel his body dying around him that night, aging, and feel his heart pumping in his chest. As aware as he was of death on that night, he was also so aware of the life in him. Meeting Miroku, Sango, and Kagome had changed his outlook on humans a lot. As weak as their bodies and hearts were, they were able to rise above it so often that it was amazing. Maybe… the human half of him was stronger than the demon in him.

Inuyasha had always wanted to be a full demon, even when his heart had been in the middle of loving Kikyo, he still desired the power and strength of his father's demon blood. If he was strong like his brother, then he could protect everyone around him. He wanted to be a full demon from the bottom of his heart, but when the blood raged inside him and finally took over and he got his wish, he found he didn't like what he had become. He lost his human heart, the heart that made him want to protect and love and even live. As a demon, he cared only for power and carnage. Was it worth it to have what he wanted when he hurt everything else he had ever cared about? Or was his half-breed body and mind only too weak for his father's powerful bloodline?

Now, he didn't know what he wanted anymore.

Inuyasha sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

They were all gathered around a fire, roasting rabbits that Miroku had somehow caught. (According to Shippo, who had gone along with Kirara on the hunting expedition, Miroku had been doing a lot of falling about and cursing but had finally caught two rabbits. Kirara and Shippo had caught the other three.) Sango just shook her head as she skinned the catch and set them up to roast over the fire. Kagome had gone down to the river to fill up their water bottles and wash her hands before they ate. She now carried a single jewel shard around her neck so they had to be vigilant that nothing came after them, including Naraku and including Inuyasha's demon side.

"So, Inuyasha," Miroku said conversationally as he spun the rabbits on the spit. "Tomorrow's the night of the new moon."

Inuyasha jolted, his heartbeat skipping. How could he have forgotten? He had been so distracted by what his demon side had done to Kagome that he had completely forgotten about his most hated human time of the month.

Sango lifted her hand warningly as Miroku's hand started to wander and the monk sheepishly pulled his hand back into his lap. "Why don't you go back to Kagome's era for the night of the new moon?" she asked him. "It'll be safer there than it is here for you. Especially since Naraku's been so quiet lately. I'm sure he's planning something."

"What about you guys?" Inuyasha asked.

"We'll be okay," Miroku said. "We'll stay in Kaede's village in case he tries anything. I'm sure we can fare without you for one night."

Inuyasha lowered his eyes. So, they didn't need him. That went against everything he knew about humans and demons alike. Why would they stay with him if they didn't need him. Maybe Kagome as right. Maybe they were _friends_, but the word was so foreign and sweet on his tongue that he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Kagome pushed her way out of the brush. "I've got the water," she said cheerfully. When she noticed Inuyasha's demeanor, she asked, "What'cha talking about?"

"We were just saying how Inuyasha should go back to your era for the night of the new moon tomorrow," Sango explained.

Kagome sat down beside Inuyasha and handed him a water bottle. "That's actually a great idea. Naraku's been pretty quiet so he's bound to be up to something. If he finds out about the night of the new moon, it's all over for us."

Sango nodded in agreement and stroked Kirara's fur. "And we'll be okay for one night. We'll stay with Kaede."

Kagome nodded. "That's perfect," she said with a smile. "Right Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, sure," he said softly.

Then, Inuyasha got up and left to patrol the perimeter of the camp. Once they thought he was out of earshot, he heard his friends begin to whisper about tomorrow night. They were worried. If Naraku tried something and got to him, Inuyasha would be killed. And they sounded so distressed about that. What was up with these humans?

…

That night, Inuyasha didn't come back to the camp.

…

In search of Inuyasha, Sango and Kirara took to the skies, Miroku and Shippo headed west towards the Village of the Demon Slayers, and Kagome headed west in the direction of Kaede's village. Until they found Inuyasha, it was best that she was very careful. She might even have to go home. Without Inuyasha there to protect the jewel shards, it wasn't safe for her to be here in this world. They needed him because he was him, because he had the heart of a human and the strength of a demon, because he was Inuyasha and they needed him.

…

"Inuyasha!"

Kagome shouted his name again, her voice echoing in the vast darkness of the feudal era. Overhead, the thick blanket of clouds threatened a downpour of rain and Kagome shivered as a gust of cold wind blew through her thin school uniform. If Inuyasha had been with her, he would have given her the Robe of the Fire Rat to keep warm, but she didn't have that luxury right now.

"Inuyasha!"

She tripped in the darkness and soon found herself sliding down a steep hill of mud and rock. At the bottom, winded and muddy, she had to force back tears. Where was Inuyasha? She needed him! She stumbled to her feet and a stab of pain raced up her leg. A sharp rock had ripped open the back of her thigh and was now bleeding freely. It hurt badly, too, filled with mud as it was.

"Inuyasha!"

But her knight in shining red fire-proof robes did not appear in the night. Kagome was completely alone. Her eyes filled with tears and she sobbed his name desperately, pressing her hand over the wound in her leg though the hot blood continued to seep through her fingers.

"Inuyasha!"

Then, suddenly, something struck her hard in the back of the head. Darkness reached in at the edge of her vision, trying to take over and whisk her away into darkness, but she fought back as long as she could, but she just couldn't. The darkness took her away, but she didn't feel her body hit the ground.

"Inuyasha."

…

Kagome woke sharply as her body connected hard with the floor of the Bone Eater's Well in her own era. She quickly clambered out and jumped back in, whimpering at the tearing pain in her leg as she passed through time five hundred years into the past. In the feudal era, she climbed out, trying to figure out how she had gotten here to begin with since the last thing she remembered was searching for Inuyasha near Goshinboku, but the storm there had whipped itself into a vicious frenzy. Her voice was stolen when she shouted for Inuyasha and the area was deserted, veiled by a thick curtain of cold slanting rain. So, with nothing else she could do, she returned to her own world. She hoped that everyone else was alright.

X X X

It think this chapter is cute. Where'd Inuyasha go? And who tossed Kagome back into her own era?

Questions, comments, concerns?


	4. The Human Heart: Pt I

I have such a fascination with the human side of Inuyasha. He's so cute. I think it's just because I have a thing for black hair. If he had those cute dog ears in black with those golden eyes, he'd be so gorgeous for me! Aww! Man, I have issues. I'm in love with fictional characters. Who else has that problem?

X X X

It was the night of the new moon.

Inuyasha was still nowhere to be found.

Needless to say, Kagome was frantic to locate him.

She had returned as fast as she could with a fresh quiver of arrows and her leg tightly wrapped, now armed with powerful flashlights and walkie-talkies. She wasn't sure if the walkie-talkies would even work in the feudal era, but it was a nice idea if it did work out. She wasn't sure how far the signal would reach, though. It didn't work very well at the best of times in the modern era, but when she explained the situation they were faced with, Souta was more than happy to help find his hero by donating them.

"Don't worry, Kagome," Miroku said as he slipped onto Kirara's back behind Sango, gripping his staff around her waist. They were partnering up to search for Inuyasha again, Shippo with Kagome because he could fly a little ways with her while Miroku with Sango went with Kirara. "We'll find him. We won't stop looking until we find him."

Sango nodded and gave her friend a hug. Then, to Kirara, she said, "Let's go."

Kagome watched her friends take off and then turned to Shippo. "Are you ready?" she asked him.

The young kitsune nodded, pressed a leaf to his forehead, and transformed into his favorite flying form for her. Usually, she would have laughed at the strange pink balloon animal, but not tonight. She was too concerned about finding Inuyasha.

If someone or something came across him in his vulnerable human form, he was a goner for sure, especially without them at his side. She realized that had had made it his entire life alone on the night of the new moon, but still… He might not have been ready to admit it, but lately they protected him on the night of the new moon since Naraku was always dangerously close and Kagura knew his secret, though in her desperation to be free of Naraku, she pretended she had never seen anything. What if tonight was the night she went back on her word?

"Please," Kagome whispered to a God she didn't believe in as Shippo took to the sky. "Let us find him."

…

Inuyasha had decided that his so-called friends didn't need him. He was a danger to them with his unreliable demon blood and his weak human heart. Kagome, Miroku, and Sango were more than capable of taking care of themselves and each other. They had proved it countless times on the night of the new moon and also when they were alone.

Once again, Inuyasha returned to the private bolt-hole of his youth that was nothing more than a cave in the dense forest around the sacred tree, Goshinboku. It might even have been a part of the same cave system where the wounded bandit Onigumo pined for Kikyo and later offered his body to the demon hordes to possess her and became the beast Naraku. He sat against the wall with his Tetsusaiga clenched to his chest tightly, shivering.

God, he hated being a human.

On nights like these, his weak human heart was even more apparent than usual, throbbing in the cage of his frail human ribs. He wished Kagome was with him, sitting quietly at his side as she always did while the others hung back. They normally didn't bother him because they thought his heart was so fragile on the night of the new moon and they were right. All his emotions were so close to the surface that his throat felt tight. He felt as if he could cry for Kikyo's death and wallow in the fact that he had hurt Kagome so badly, but he struggled to push these feelings away.

To coin a phrase, he considered his feelings to be like a mother's breasts. You know where they are, but they're best left unfelt. (1)

Either way, he hated to be alone on these nights, hiding from enemies he could usually destroy in a single stroke because he had no power of his own as a human, whimpering over his pathetic life, cowering in fear. How were Miroku, Sango, and Kagome all so strong? They were only humans, but Inuyasha was worthless as a human. Hell, he was worthless as a half-demon, too, and even more so as a full-demon because he was so dangerous to everyone and everything, friend or foe. Jesus, was there a single part of him that was worth anything? Was he worth anything at all?

To Kikyo, he was only worth something as a human.

To himself, he was only worth being a full-demon.

To Kagome…

She liked him as a half-demon.

Maybe there was something wrong with her.

Yeah, that had to be it…

There was just something wrong in Kagome's head.

Inuyasha pulled his legs up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them tightly, crushing Tetsusaiga closer. When was this night going to end? Nervously, he peeked out the mouth of the cave to see that the stars had only shifted a tiny bit. Maybe only minutes had passed. Outside, in the brush, he could hear something moving, rustling around. What lurked out there in the dark where he couldn't see with his weak human eyes?

His human heart pounded.

He was afraid.

He was afraid to die like this.

He was afraid to die alone in a cave.

But from the oh-so frightening rustling bushes, only a small red fox appeared, its tail erect and nose to the ground, sniffing eagerly at the trail of some small animal that it wanted for dinner. After only a few seconds, the fox raced off after its quarry into the darkness, leaving only rustling leaves in its wake.

That was that.

The world outside the cave was still and quiet.

Inuyasha breathed deeply to calm his nerves. He was being stupid. No one had ever found him in this cave before, not since his mother had died when he was a child and he had been roughly hurled out on his own. That was… almost one hundred and fifty years ago, not counting the fifty years he had spent pinned to Goshinboku. Why on earth would something find him tonight of all nights? Because God had a sense of humor, that's why. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in another shaky breath.

Why was he here again? Alone and afraid?

Right, because he was useless and worthless to his friends and it was time he got out of their way. His demon blood was dangerous and maybe even deadly to them, his human side was too weak to help them, and as a half-breed he was worth nothing to anyone… except Kagome.

"Inuyasha!" The cry echoed in the dark night.

Even with his weak human ears, he heard Kagome scream his name—not in panic or pain, but searching vainly for him. She shouted for him again, but her voice was moving away. She wouldn't be able to find him here, but this was stupid, wasn't it? He should let her find him so she could tell the others that he was alive and then go back through time with her to her safe modern era. Then, when his demon powers returned, they could continue their search for the jewel and the destruction of Naraku just like always.

Everything could go back to normal. He wished that from the bottom of his human heart… but that could never be.

He would still have a monster caged inside him, ready to burst out at any moment.

He would still be a danger to his precious friends.

He would still have hurt Kagome.

He wished…

He didn't even know what he wished for anymore. To be a full-demon? To become human for Kikyo's walking corpse? To remain as he was for Kagome?

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed in the distance, her voice echoing among the ancient trees. "Inuyasha!"

The half-breed turned useless human got to his feet, clambered through the mouth of his hidden cave, and looked up into the starry night sky. He could see Shippo's flying shape, Kagome standing atop him with her dark hair like a flying banner, the beam of her magic torch stabbing a short distance through the night. She was so beautiful, even from this distance. There was nothing wrong with Kagome—she was just a wonderful person, even to someone as stupid and pig-headed and difficult as he was.

She shouted for him again, her voice cracking with desperation to find him. "Inuyasha!" She sounded as if her heart was going to break. "Inuyasha! Please, answer me!"

He slipped the Tetsusaiga, which he had been clutching desperately, back into the sash at his waist. Then, he lifted his hands to his mouth, preparing to call out his location to her. It was then that something hideously sharp stabbed through his shoulder in a shower of blood and pain. Not even a scream escaped his mouth as the ground rushed up to envelope him.

…

Since there was no moon, it was grievously dark. Not even the beam of Kagome's powerful Maglite could penetrate more than a few hundred feet. "Inuyasha!" she shouted again, but only the sound of her own voice answered her, echoing back through the silence of the feudal era's night. Sighing heavily, she pulled the walkie-talkie from her pocket, lifted it to her mouth, and called to Sango and Miroku, "Did you guys find him yet?"

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but no," Miroku called over the line, his voice muffled by a lot of static, but she understood most of what he was saying.

Sango's voice came over the line. She asked, "How about you?"

"No," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Don't worry, Kagome," Sango said gently. "We'll find him."

But Kagome was beginning to worry that they would only wind up finding his corpse, torn apart and devoured by Naraku or even some other weak demon. He was only human tonight, just like them, only his life depended on no one knowing that he became human. If only she could find him! It was all she wished for… if she could just find Inuyasha, she would never wish for anything again.

Suddenly, Shippo weaved dangerously under her.

Kagome flattened her body to the top of him, clinging on desperately, shouting, "Shippo! What's going on?"

"Blood!" the young fox shouted, diving towards the ground. "I smell Inuyasha's blood!"

Her heart stopped beating in her chest, turned to solid stone, and crashed down into her stomach to be dissolved by the acid there.

"W-what?" she breathed.

X X X

(1) I couldn't resist! I was watching Two and a Half Men while I was writing this chapter and I heard that line from Charlie and started laughing so hard that my dad came in to check on me. It's from Season Four, Episode Two: "Who's Vod Kanockers?" If only Inuyasha got a hold of Rose's line afterwards—"A mother's breasts are also a source of nourishment and comfort." Inuyasha, you need to feel your feelings you stupid person!

Questions, comments, concerns?


	5. The Human Heart: Pt II

Hmm… I didn't like this chapter, so I edited a ton of stuff and now I love it!

X X X

Shippo dived down into the forest and Kagome clung on. Her dark hair whipped in her face, blinding her, but she urged Shippo to go faster. The scent of _Inuyasha's blood…_ and he was only a human tonight! He could be so easily killed! His life was as fragile as hers on the night of the new moon. As Shippo's flight pattern leveled out and slowed, telling Kagome they were as close to the scent of Inuyasha's blood as he dared race without a care for sound, she got to her knees and notched an arrow. No one was going to take Inuyasha away from her.

"Let's go, Shippo," she said eagerly.

Kagome could feel the young fox demon's form trembling beneath her, but he plowed bravely through the brush and into the clearing where he smelled Inuyasha's blood. The branches whipped at them as if trying to hold them back, but they burst into the clearing seconds later. First, Kagome saw Inuyasha's body, clad in the blood-colored fur of the Fire Rat and her heart skipped a beat. Then, she laid eyes on the demon that had attacked him.

It was not Naraku as she had so desperately feared. It was only a low-level weak ogre demon with wicked claws, three of which were stabbed into Inuyasha's body from behind. Why a demon would attack Inuyasha was beyond Kagome's understanding since she carried the jewel shards and he was only a weak human tonight, but she didn't care to find out. In a blaze of pink fire, she released her arrow and the demon didn't even have a chance against the purification powers of Kagome that surpassed even those of the priestess, Kikyo.

Shippo transformed back into his true form in a puff of smoke, backing off as Kagome leaped down and ran to Inuyasha's side, even dropping her bow in her haste. She rolled him over quickly, pressing her hands to the wound in his shoulder. He groaned and his dark eyes opened slowly, shining in the darkness.

"Kagome," he whispered.

"Inuyasha, did you throw me down the well?"

He nodded slowly, wincing in pain.

"Inuyasha, you're so stupid. If you weren't injured I'd _S-I-T_—" he winced "—you so many times you'd need a ladder to get out of the crater," she snapped at him. "What were you thinking running away from us? Especially so close to the night of the new moon?"

He closed his eyes. "I didn't think…" he began, but shook his head and quieted.

"Jeez," Kagome murmured. She pulled him into a sitting position, was relieved to see that despite how bad the wound looked it was hardly bleeding anymore under the pressure of her hands, and it would probably heal in a few hours once his demon powers returned. She shook him gently.

Hissing in pain, Inuyasha's dark eyes went right into her soul.

"Inuyasha," she whispered. "See now?"

His brow wrinkled.

"We've both hurt each other. We're even now."

"Huh?"

"That's why you left, right? Because of what your demon side did to me?"

He looked away, dark purple-black eyes lowering as if ashamed. Then, though she had expected him to deny it and tell her how stupid she was as he normally would have, he instead nodded lightly. His dark hair slipped down around his face like a curtain, hiding the expression in his eyes from her. "I didn't think…" he whispered softly, "I didn't think it was safe for me to be with you anymore, to be with any of you. I have a monster inside of me."

His human heart was so honest, so broken, that it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Kagome took a moment to collect herself and swallow the lump in her throat. Then, she sighed heavily to hide her own emotions and pulled him to his feet, supporting his unsteady weight on her shoulders. He was light and warm against her side. "Let's go back to my era. We've got clean that wound up and its safer there," she said. "Plus, I think we need to talk."

Inuyasha held her close, leaning on her lightly, and agreed silently.

"Shippo," Kagome said to the young kit. "Call Miroku and Sango on the walkie-talkie and tell them what happened. I want to get Inuyasha back where it's safe." She glanced at the dark foliage around them, murky and sinister without a single speck of moonlight. In a few ways, she hated the night of the new moon, but she loved seeing Inuyasha like this. She loved his tender human heart, but also his half-demon bloodline. "Who knows what will be attracted to the smell of human blood," she added.

Shippo nodded, hopped onto Kagome's shoulder, and called Miroku and Sango on the walkie-talkie. They were beyond relieved and would meet up with Shippo back in Kaede's house since Kagome was going to take Inuyasha back to her world as they had originally planned before he ran away on them. Shippo stayed with Kagome and Inuyasha, riding along in silence, until they reached the Bone Eater's Well. Then, the two dark-haired humans laboriously jumped into the flare of bright blue light and Shippo hurried back through the darkness to Kaede's house.

Sango, Miroku, and Kirara arrived a few minutes later, loaded with questions and eager to have them answered.

Kaede was the one who stopped them from swamping a poor kitsune and settled everyone down around the home fire for a cup of hot tea and a minute of deep meditative breathing. Then, the old priestess allowed them to jump all over Shippo. She had tried her best, after all, and that was all anyone could ask of her. She was very old, indeed.

Kaede decided to try one final time before giving up. "Ye found Inuyasha, thank the Gods, now can we leave it at that?"

"Why didn't Kagome wait for us?" Miroku asked, ignoring the old priestess.

"Inuyasha was hurt," Shippo said plainly, shrinking backwards against Kaede's thigh.

"But still, we all could have stayed together tonight to protect him," Miroku continued.

"She could have waited a little bit," Sango said softly, petting Kirara. She was willing to admit that she now cared deeply for the half-breed she once considered her mortal enemy now that her eyes had been opened to the grand architect of her pain, Naraku.

"Kagome said that she and Inuyasha needed to have a talk," Shippo said.

The adults exchanged glances.

"What?" Shippo asked.

"We'll tell ye when ye're older," Kaede said and poured out the tea.

Kirara mewed and began to clean her paws.

"What?" Shippo repeated.

But no one paid any attention to him because Miroku chose that moment to grope Sango's ass in celebration of finding Inuyasha and she smashed him in the head with Hiraikotsu. For a moment, the monk remained sitting upright, dazedly staring at some far point on the wall. Then, he passed out into unconsciousness and Kaede set about laying him out on a straw futon, shaking her head. Would these children ever learn?

…

Kagome was relieved to be back in the modern era with Inuyasha safely at her side. She had a little trouble getting them both out of the Bone Eater's Well, but she managed. She towed him out of the small shrine and across the yard. She extracted the spare key since it was so late, unlocked the front door, put the key back, and led him inside. Stepping inside the house, she called out for her mother, Souta, or even Grandpa who would probably be very happy to see Inuyasha was a human rather than a dangerous demon, but no one answered. She flipped on the light and found a note on the kitchen table with a vase of yellow daffodils perched atop it.

"_Kagome_," she read out loud, "_We went to the movies. Not sure if you were planning to be home tonight, but there's leftover meatloaf in the fridge. We hope you find Inuyasha. Be careful, honey. Love, Mama, Gramps, and Souta_." It was only in her mother's handwriting so Kagome smiled to herself. Her family could win Dysfunctional Family of the Year if they really wanted and, at the risk of coining a phrase, they put the FUN in dysfunctional.

Inuyasha leaned heavily into her, breathing deeply.

She glanced at Inuyasha. "Ah, alright then. We have the house to ourselves."

She eased Inuyasha down in a chair and pulled open the neck of his flame-red kimono and white undershirt so she could get a look at his wounded shoulder. It was still bleeding sluggishly, but thankfully the demon's claws had been thin enough not to damage him badly. If he had been half-demon at the time, he would probably already have healed. Since Kagome only had to get him through the night until his powers returned and he started healing supernaturally fast, she didn't need to take him to the hospital or even stitch him up. But she did make him take off his shirt so she could clean the wounds with hydrogen peroxide and wrap the slowly-bleeding wounds.

He took the pain and prodding silently, without lifting his eyes from the floor. That was so strange. Normally even a human Inuyasha would bicker and argue and make a big deal about having those chemicals dumped on his body. Why was he being so compliant? Since his face was pale with pain, she also gave him some aspirin when she finished. Even those he took without complaint.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly when she finished.

He glanced at her and there was strange expression in his dark beautiful eyes.

The human Inuyasha was so earnest and straightforward. He often looked right into her eyes and held her gaze tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go. When he was human, he was often afraid and he hated to be alone. And somehow, he always looked unspeakably sad. This was the side of him Kagome enjoyed being with the most because he normally didn't pander to his ego (to a degree) and he genuinely seemed as if he wanted to be with her rather than the dead Kikyo.

His human heart was gentle and sweet, soft and—she also knew—deeply scarred and broken. Naraku had played Inuyasha and Kikyo against each other, destroying the first bond Inuyasha had ever dared make with another person beside his mother, and he had been pinned to the tree in suspended animation by Kikyo, stewing in his suffering, for fifty years. Anyone's soul, even Kagome's pure heart, was bound to be damaged greatly by a blow like that. It was too horrible to even think about the depth of a betrayal like that.

Then, Inuyasha was a half-breed. He had never had a real home or love since his mother died so long ago. His willingness to accept the Un-Mother Sesshomaru had tried to trick him with in order to get his hands on their father's grave showed just how desperate he was to reclaim a love like that. Once, Inuyasha had told her a little bit about his past. Sometimes, in her nightmares, his voice seeped in—_"Not really a demon, but not really human. I'm not either. That's all… There was no place for me, so I had find one myself. And then I realized I had a place, but I was the only one in it. It was the only way I knew how to live."_

How could anyone survive in a life like that and have any heart left? Was it because of his humanity? Or was his heart just that strong?

Kagome would have loved to have met his mother and see what kind of person she was to manage to bestow such a great heart into her only son. But, Inuyasha's mother as long dead and Inuyasha had lived many years without her. He had been alone forever. No doubt, it was hard for him to suddenly have the closest thing to a family he had ever known. It must have been hard for him to trust them completely when something always seemed to happen to hurt him deeply when he began to trust.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered again.

"Why aren't you afraid?" he asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I hurt you," he whispered, "yet you still trust me. Why aren't you afraid? Miroku and Sango are afraid."

"What gives you that idea?" Kagome asked him.

"Don't," he said softly. "Don't try to lie to me. I know they are. I can smell the fear on them."

"They are afraid, but not of you."

He met her gaze.

She nodded and tucked some dark hair behind her ear. "They're afraid because of the creature Naraku sent after us. He's becoming more cunning and he's starting to try to pit us against each other, just like he did to you and Kikyo, and to Sango and Kohaku. They're afraid because they care a lot about each other and they're afraid Naraku might try to do that same thing to them."

"But why aren't you afraid of me? I know I almost killed you."

Kagome sighed, pulled out a chair, and sat down beside him at the kitchen table, holding his hand lightly between her own. The calluses of wielding Tetsusaiga carried over into his human body so his hand was still rough and strong, but also so warm. Curiously, she ran her fingertips over the smooth soft fingernails on the tips of his long thin human fingers. He had never really let her touch and explore him when he was human. His body felt so frail like this, tender and beautiful, so different from the half-demon she was used to being with.

Then, she murmured, "I'm just not, Inuyasha."

"But why?"

"Because… it's still you…"

He yanked back as if struck. Did she think he was really a bloodthirsty monster that couldn't distinguish friend from foe? He breathed out, "What?"

"It's still you, Inuyasha. It's a part of you and I know the real you would never hurt me."

He put his hand over her shoulder, feeling the scar there. "How can you say that?"

"I know you," she whispered. "The half-demon in you, Inuyasha, might be the one I'm used to seeing the most, but that doesn't mean I don't like this side of you. Actually, I love this side of you, the human side."

His heart skipped a beat and he turned his face away. "So, you're like Kikyo," he said softly. "You want me to be human."

She shook her head. "I also like the demon in you," she confessed and reached up to push her fingers through his thick dark hair. It was so soft and smooth, almost like silk, not the heavy silver mane she was used to feeling in her hands while he carried her on his back. "I love your dog ears."

He flushed.

She smiled. "You see, Inuyasha—this human, the demon—they're all a part of you. They're all sides of one soul and it's your soul," she said gently and cupped his warm face.

He stared into her eyes and she saw his heart in those depths, fragile and trembling like a bird. "Kagome," he whispered.

"Now, tell me why you were running away from us."

He continued to hold her gaze. "I didn't know what you wanted from me."

"Wanted from you?"

"I'm only half-demon. Humans are never with me unless they want something from me. Kikyo wanted me to wish on the jewel, to become human, so she wouldn't have to guard it anymore."

Kagome wet her lips. Was that what he thought? But it was probably all he had ever known. Half-demons were always out of place, tormented and chased away. "We're your friends, Inuyasha," she told him gently. "That's all."

He laid his hand over hers. "I… know."

"Inuyasha, do you want to know a secret?"

He nodded.

This was it, Kagome told herself. This was the moment where she told him that she loved him and they kissed and lived happily ever after. She was about to spill her guts when her eyes met Inuyasha's and all the courage left her. Instead, she smiled faintly and said, "I think this human side of you is really cute."

He stared at her.

She laughed uneasily.

"Really?" he whispered suddenly.

She nodded. "Yeah. Of course. Why would I lie?"

Inuyasha's human heart pounded hard enough to escape the cage of his ribs. She liked the puny human side of him, and accepted the dangerous demon blood, and she liked his dog ears. The human reached out—this was the side of him that loved and trusted Kagome the most—and now, he acted on that. Lightly, he pressed his lips to her cheek. Even without his heightened senses, he could sense her surprise and also her excitement. Her skin was so warm and soft and he could taste the life in her body, the pure sweet blood pumping through her veins.

He pulled back slightly and she stared at him a moment, her lips slightly parted with surprise.

Her hand was resting on his bare chest, the kimonos still lying around his hips, and he knew she could feel his heart pounding. Then, she dipped her head and very gently kissed him in return, just a quick peck on the lips. Silently, the two humans slid into an embrace and Inuyasha pulled her close, relishing this. When was the last time someone had hugged him, even touched him gently? Suddenly, she tasted wet warm salt on their lips and pulled sharply back to look into his face, but he turned away before she could see him crying.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his arm and didn't say anything.

"Inuyasha," she whispered. This time, she would say it!

But he interrupted her. "Thank you, Kagome," he whispered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Inuyasha," she said with a small soft smile. She stroked his thin back a moment, toying with the thick strands of his dark hair, until he stopped trembling. Then, she took the leftover meatloaf out of the fridge, heated it up, and dished some food out for both of them. And she decided to leave it at that. It was enough for one night.

X X X

And, _drum roll please_, we are finished! Very _important_ classic author's note, blah, blah, blah:

Ah, drop me a review and let me know what you think! Are the characters way out of character? Does everybody hate Naraku still, not that I did anything to change your mind about him? Are in love with the angsty human Inuyasha? Are annoyed with Kagome for flaking around? Are permanently disgusted and can no longer even watch Inuyasha thanks to me? Loved it? Hated it? (Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and weenies!) Think I need to do more editing before I post chapters? Post to slow? Chapters are too short? Too long? Yada, yada, yada…

Second, I own nothing except my original characters and some plotline here.

Third, check out my first ORIGINAL NOVEL! The Breaking of Poisonwood by **Paradise Avenger**. (Summary: People were dead. When Skye Davis bought me at a slave auction as a birthday present for his brother, I had no idea what my new life was going to be like, but I had never expected _this_. It all started when Venus de Luna was killed and I was to take her place, to become the new savior… Then, bad things happened and some people died. In the heart of the earth, we discovered the ancient being that Frank Davis had found and created and used to his advantage. The _Poisonwood_—)

And so, I bid you adieu.

Questions, comments, concerns?


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